What we’re eating ….

Lana’s Sweet and Sour Meatballs

INGREDIENTS
• 2 pounds/1 kg lean ground beef 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs 
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar 
• 1 (20 ounce/600g) can pineapple chunks, drained with juice reserved 
• 1/3 cup water 
• 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt 
• 1 large carrot, diced 
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a large, shallow baking sheet. 
2. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs and onion. Sprinkle with ginger, seasoning salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Shape into one inch balls. 
3. Place meatballs in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes; set aside. 
4. To make the sauce, mix enough water with the reserved pineapple juice to make 1 cup. In a large pot over medium heat, combine the juice mixture, 1/3 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Stir in cornstarch, ginger and seasoning salt, until smooth. Cover and cook until thickened. 
5. Stir pineapple chunks, carrot, green pepper and meatballs into the sauce. Gently stir to coat the meatballs with the sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked.

This recipe is at the high end of effort for me, but its worth it !!

GLENYS’ CANNELONI

Fry chopped garlic and onion in melted butter until golden brown. Add mince/ground beef. Cook until no liquid remains, stirring constantly. Add oregano and triple concentrate tomato sauce and stir well. Add at least 1 cup water. Take off heat and strain to separate beef from liquid. Mix one egg and a handful of romano cheese with meat and set aside.

Make 6 pancakes using :
1 cup plain flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
Mix into batter, cook until just cooked on low heat (do not brown).

Lay pancake flat, place cooked mince inside and roll up.

Place pancakes in shallow dish and cover with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted.

I always run out of ideas for ground beef/mince and this is a more Asian style flavour but still relatively mild. You can bqq or pan fry …

750g / 1.5lbs ground beef/mince

1 small onion, grated

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

1 tablespoon plain flour

1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin, coriander, chilli powder  (if you don’t have all of these, just add the ones you do have)

pinch each nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves

Combine all ingredients and season with pepper.

Divide mixture into patties or shape as kebabs around a stick.

Refrigerate 1-2 hours if possible.

Grill, bbq or pan fry until cooked though and well browned.

Meatloaf is not one of my favourite meals. But this one is DELICIOUS and the kids like it too !

Paula Dean’s Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf 

450g / 1lb ground beef
5 slices bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces
100g / 3oz grated Cheddar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Dijon  mustard
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 180 C.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the ketchup and mustard, mixing well.

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture.

Press meat mixture into a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 40-60 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Meatballs with SW BBQ Sauce (from the Complete Canadian Living Cookbook)

2lbs / 800g ground beef/mince

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

(NOTE – I used about 300 g of beef and cut down the other ingredients by half which made the right amount for the 4 of us)

Combine all ingredients. Roll tablespoonfuls into balls. Place of a foil lined baking tray and bake at 375F/190C for about 15 mins or until cooked through (mine took 20 mins)

SW BBQ Sauce

1 teaspoon vegie oil

1 small onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon each chilli powder and cumin

3/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

1 tablespoon each Dijon mustard and worchestershire sauce

Dash hot pepper sauce

Heat oil in pan. Cook onion, garlic, cumin, chilli powder, stirring often for 5 mins. Add remaining ingredients, bring to simmer and cook for 5 mins. Add meatballs and turn to coat.

(note – I made about 1/4 of this amount of sauce – it was very tasty, kind of like homemade ketchup with a little kick – and that was more than enough for us. If you served it with pasta or rice or something, you could do more sauce)